In future warfare, combat will be carried out in a great and increased number of different areas. A probable scenario for all operative war cases, such as international efforts, invasion defense and terrorist combating, is that the combat will take place in urban areas. For this reason the number of target types that must be considered and defeated is increasing. In addition to known target types such as armored and unarmored vehicles, troops in open area and field fortifications or bunkers, other types of targets such as troops in buildings, troops or soldiers behind corners and walls and not to forget buildings per se must be considered.
In the past this was solved by bringing special ammunition for each type of target. However, in view of the increased number of target types now present or expected in the future it is not possible to bring all types. First of all this holds for carried weapon systems but also vehicles have limited space and carrying capacity. Furthermore, if a great number of ammunition types are carried there is a risk that the number of ammunition of each type is to small to solve its mission.
Combat in urban areas also often requires that at least some of the ammunition types carried, if not all, are constructed so that they can be used in confined space. A so called CS capability is desirable. Many heavy weapons now used generate too high a pressure wave to be used in confined space. For this reason the number of ammunition types to be carried or transported may be doubled.
Attempts to reduce the number of ammunition types used are previously known. According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,416 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,357 A some kind of dual or combined operation of a warhead comprising one single explosive charge is known. U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,416 B1 describes a combined high-blast/anti-armour warhead. After impact with the target, the target sensor will trigger a fuse either immediately or after a short delay, depending on weather the warhead is set to anti-armour or high-blast mode. According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,357 A the warhead is provided with a front and a rear detonator. Actuation of the rear detonator alone results in an armour piercing mode of operation whereas near simultaneous actuation of both detonators results in a wider area of impact of the forward focused energy and in an enhanced sidespray fragmentation. These known single explosive charge warheads are limited in their effect and are to be regarded as a compromise in obtaining two different ammunition types that are not as effective as desired.